Usilian Pirates

Though the Shogun and High Lords rule over the Usilian lands with an iron grip, the Usilian coast is by contrast almost entirely free from their grasp. These pirates roam the shores, rob ships and enjoy the closest to freedom as any Usilian can. They trade land for sea, houses for boats and honoring the Shogun for honoring each other.
Whereas the typical Usilian will pledge to live a life of honor these chose to live a life of adventure and those who wish to sail the coast of Usilia have two methods of guaranteeing their crossing. They can bid for the Usilian Navy's protection, or they can make a deal with the pirates.
These pirates first started their activity near the end of the Shogun's conquest. While some of the defeated Lords ran into the forests and still live within them in refuge until this day, others fled to the sea and had to resort to desperate measures to survive. At first they were a rare sighting, for most tried to sale to different continents, others died of illness and poor diets. But as the years passed and they became more experienced, they started to establish outposts in small islets and with Usilia's Navy being splintered and weakened at the time, there was no one that could challenge them.
Centuries later and these pirates are strong enough to go up against Usilia's reformed Navy. Despite the Shogun's efforts and massive investment in an entire new fleet of ships and a Navy Academy, these pirates still largely control the seas and the trading routes and it is thank to them that Usilia receives imports from other parts of the world and it is to them that merchants generally negotiate to guarantee protection and safe passage across the seas.

Structure

Whereas most pirate ships act independently there are a few notable captains who gathered enough influence and followers to command small fleets of their own among them there are a few who stand out who received the nickname of Sea Emperor:

Chii Sao

This woman was nicknamed Pirate Queen after she took control of her late husband's fleet and made a daring raid through Usilia's main river pillaging villages and cities all the way until the Great March. What she did not expect though was that the Shogun was counting on this, so after all her ships were inside the river, he blocked the entrance of the river with his entire fleet. With no other way to escape, Chii Sao sat in the middle of the river with her fleet but then the Gods blessed her with strong wind that blew eastwards towards the sea. Under the cover of the night she deployed floating rafts with wood and dynamite in the middle and sent them down the river. The dark smoke from the rafts drifted against the Shogun fleet who were essentially blinded but still they held their position.
After a few hours the first rafts started hitting the Navy ships and chaos broke loose, the Navy ships started turning and trying to navigate away from the explosive rafts and fire at the darkness. After a few hours, the Navy ships that survived had dispersed while 14 of them now drifted in pieces. When dawn broke, Chii Sao calmly sailed back into the sea without losing a single ship or firing a single canon shot. Since then, no one has ever questioned her abilities.

Red Haired Katsu - the Strawhat Pirate

The curious Red Haired Katsu is rumored to descend from a family of Usilian nobles. This man has seen a life of trials and tribulations and rumor has it that he gave up his arm to save a child from a wild shark. Despite this handicap, there is no known pirate who is a better swordsman than Katsu. Despite being one of the most honorable among the pirates, none have lived to tell the tale of surviving a confrontation against him.
Whereas some pirates resort to a life of pillaging and confrontations Katsu's fleet generally only helps protect trading and fishing ships. Though the Usilia Navy has strict orders to attack any pirates on sight, even they hesitate to fire against the cross-boned skull flag with the Strawhat. As honorable as he may be in his trade, he is ruthless in combat.

Cheng Sai Po

This unsuspecting son of a fisherman lived most of his life in poverty until one day luck struck him and he found the remains of a ship floating in the sea and was able to recover a couple of crates of gold from the bottom of the ocean. This sparked a fire in the man who decided that rather than struggling to survive he would just take what he wished. With his gold and newly found taste for treasure, Cheng Sai Po amassed a small fortune over the years by attacking many merchant ships. Among the famous pirates he is the most ruthless who will spare at nothing to earn riches, though he does spare men from the ships he destroys, he forces them to pay for their transportation back to shore, never missing an opportunity to profit at any occasion. There's a rumor that among the islets east of Usilia there is a cave where he keeps his amassed fortune and many have tried to find it, but so far no one has been so fortunate, nor survived the attempt.

Type

Illicit, Pirate Crew